Timeshares for People Who Hate Timeshares

It’s the end of your stay at a fabulous hotel… the butter-soft sheets, the breezy tennis courts just a stroll away…and you just don’t want to leave.

It turns out that you might be able to stay--or at least visit more often, by purchasing a fractional ownership. It’s like a time-share, but with luxury amenities—and room service.

“Timeshares got a bad reputation because of high-pressure sales tactics,” says Barbara Corcoran, who founded the real estate firm The Corcoran Group and now appears on ABC's "Shark Tank.” But today’s growing fractional market is different, Corcoran says, because the properties are managed by reputable, high-end companies—like Hyatt, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, and Four Seasons.

And you get a lot more for your money:

You own it. Whereas timeshares just sell you time, when you buy a fractional unit, you actually get a title of ownership, broken down as, say, one-twelfth of a share (three weeks to one month a year).

Fractionals are flexible. Often you can acquire points that you can use to stay at other locations run by the same company. For example, with the Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, there are seven clubs and 70 hotel destinations around the globe that you can utilize.

They’re deluxe. “Hotel fractionals typically come with high-quality amenities such as spas, restaurants, and prime access to beaches and ski slopes,” says Corcoran. Some of them even come elegantly furnished, such as the Four Seasons Residence Club at Vail.

To find out more check out Fractional Life—which will fill you in on the entire world of fractional ownership, from real estate to boats and private jets.